Loom harness



y 7, 1966 J. J. KAUFMANN 3,251,383

LOOM HARNESS Filed Feb. 5, 1964 INVENTOR. JOHN J. KAUFMAN/V ATTORNEY Patented May. 17, 1966 3,251,383 LooM HARNESS John J. Kaufmann, Jenkintown, Pa., assignor to Steel Heddle Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pa., in corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Feb. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 342,040 4 Claims. (Cl. 139-91),

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide attachments for metal rails of heddle frames which prevent abrasion of the metal rails by aiding in the separation of the frames during their movement in forming the shed.

It is the further object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the character aforesaid which is mounted in slidable engagement with a portion of the frame rail and which can be held in adjusted position in a simple but effective manner so that interference with the operating devices for the harness frames is avoided.

It is the further object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the character aforesaid which is inexpensive to construct and can be readily applied to heddle frame rails and which, in one form, can be positively re tained at the desired location.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus of the character aforesaid which can be made of amaterial which reduces the tendency to abrade the metal heddle frame rail upon sliding thereover.

Other objects and advantageous features of the inven tion will be more readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a heddle frame having attachments in accordance with the invention applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view, enlarged, taken approximately on the line 22 of FIG. 1 and showing the rails of two contiguous heddle frames; and

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of one form of attachment in accordance with the invention for the heddle frame rails.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein' are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes may be made in the arrangement shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, in the embodiment of the invention therein illustrated, a heddle frame for a weaving loom is shown having top and bottom rails formed of extrusions of aluminum or other light metal alloy. The rails 10 are connected at their ends by side struts 12 secured thereto in any desired manner, such as by screws 13, to maintain the rails -10 at fixed distances apart.

Extending from end to end in the heddle frame are the top and bottom heddle supporting rods 15 upon which the heddles 16 are slidably mounted in the usual and customary manner. The heddles 16 can be of any desired type with end eyes engaging the heddle rods 15 and warp eyes 18 intermediate their ends. The heddles 16 can be of the character shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of Patent No. 2,047,511, but are not limited to that type of heddle.

The heddle rods 15 can be secured in position in a well known manner, such as by spring members (not shown) as in prior Patent Nos. 2,560,512 and 2,796,083.

In a preferred form of rail 10 the same has side walls 20 with exterior faces 21 and upper and lower outer edge walls 22, the outer walls 22 each being provided with a rib 23, T-shaped in transverse cross section, the rib 23 having a web 24, and a rim or head 25.

The guide member 26 in accordance with the present invention and as illustrated particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3 preferably comprises a body 27, preferably formed as an extrusion of a synthetic plastic material having a low coefiicient of friction when in rubbing contact with the metal rails. For this purpose, nylon has been found suitable because in addition to its abrasion resistance it is also tough, resilient, inert and does not in itself tend to soil the fabric being woven. Wood may also be employed.

The body 27 has side walls 28 with opposite parallel side faces 30 which, as shown in FIG. 2, are spaced 9. distance in excess of the distance between the exterior faces 21 of each rail 10, but not a distance which exceeds the gage of the loom. The walls 28 merge and have a rounded outer edge marginal wall 31. Opposite the wall 31, a longitudinaledge slot 32 is provided along the body 27, preferably of T shape with facing portions 33 spaced a predetermined distance which may be less than the thickness of the web 24 to grip the side faces of the web 24.

In use the guides 26 are mounted on the heddle frame rails 10,.preferably near the ends thereof, or at any other desired location or locations along the rails 10, and preferably pointed upwardly on the upper rails 10 and downwardly on the lower rails 10.

The guides 26 will ordinarily remain in the positions at which they are placedby reason of the gripping engagement of the facing portions 33 with the webs 24 of the ribs 23, the facing portions 33 serving as retaining members.

The guides 26 are effective for attaining the objects of the invention, the contiguous heddle frames being prevented from rubbing or abrading at the rails 10. Metallic.

deposits on the fabric are avoided and at the same time the guides 26 enhance the smoother operation of the heeddle frames for shed formation.

I claim:

1. In loom harness comprising heddle frames having top and bottom rails with a rib therealong provided with opposite vertical longitudinal parallel outer faces and a terminal rim, the improvement which comprises a guide member for mounting on the rail having a body portion of a single piece of material, said body portion having a slot therealong with spaced opposite vertical longitudinal parallel inner faces of said material in resilient frictional gripping engagement with the opposite faces of said rib and an inner longitudinal enlargement for the reception of said rim.

2. Loom harness as defined in claim 1 in which said rails have opposite longitudinal faces, said body has opposite faces and the distance between said faces of said body is at least as great as the distance between said faces of said rails.

3. In loom harness comprising a plurality of heddle frames having top and bottom rails disposed in a main plane each with a rib therealong provided with opposite vertical longitudinal parallel outer faces and a terminal rim, the improvement which comprises a guide member of a single piece of material disposed parallel to the main plane of the rail and extending outwardly beyond the rail, said guide member having a thickness at least as great as that of the rails, said guide member having a slot with opposite vertical longitudinal inner parallel faces of said material in frictional gripping engagement with said opposite faces of said rib and an enlargement for the reception of the rim.

4. A guide for the rails of a heddle frame comprising a body of a single piece of material having opposite flat faces converging to a blunt outer edge, the opposite edge of said body having a slot therealong for positioning along the outer edge of one of the heddle frame rails, the boundaries of said slot including spaced longitudinal opposed parallel facing surface portions for resilient frictional gripping engagement with the rail and said slot having an interior longitudinal enlargement closer to said blunt outer edge than said spaced portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,944,571 7/ 1960 Pfarrwaller 139-91 3,154,109 10/ 1964 Kaufmann 13992 3,155,118 11/1964 Kaufmann 139--91 FOREIGN PATENTS 315,558 10/ 1956 Switzerland. 344,384 3/1960 Switzerland.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

H. S. JAUDON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN LOOM HARNESS COMPRISING HEDDLE FRAMES HAVING TOP AND BOTTOM RAILS WITH A RIB THEREALONG PROVIDED WITH OPPOSITE VERTICAL LONGITUDINAL PARALLEL OUTER FACES AND A TERMINAL RIM, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES A GUIDE MEMBER FOR MOUNTING ON THE RAIL HAVING A BODY PORTION OF A SINGLE PIECE OF MATERIAL, SAID BODY PORTION HAVING A SLOT THEREALONG WITH SPACED OPPOSITE VERTICAL LONGITUDINAL PARALLEL INNER FACES OF SAID MATERIAL IN RESILIENT FRICTIONAL GRIPPING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE OPPOSITE FACES OF SAID RIB AND AN INNER LONGITUDINAL ENLARGEMENT FOR THE RECEPTION OF SAID RIM. 